Home Energy Savings

Have you wondered how to quickly effect real Home Energy Savings and get back in control of how much your home costs you.

Power and buying power is something that we are all used to. We see the physical benefits of the cost when we switch on a light and we feel the cost of the energy we are using when we put the fire on and our homes warm up on cold winter nights.

In fact it if you think about it - it is easy to see the energy we spend but how can we see proof of the energy we could save...

The key is to find out what is costing you the most and see where savings can be made without necessarily effecting your
lifestyle.

As you work through your home you will see some changes that will make a difference and you may then want to make changes that could effect how you live in and use your home.

It is always easier to switch machines off standby when we have proof that they cost so much a year sitting there plugged in
doing nothing, it is easier to replace the old and spend money and invest in a new appliance that carries the proper Energy
Saving sticker when we have proof that we will actually be saving money in the long run.

First make sure that all of your light bulbs are changed over from the hot energy guzzling incandescent lightbulbs to the more
energy efficient CFLs - Compact Fluorescents and see how much money you can immediately save.

Then once that is done the next step in creating an energy saving home is to find out how much you are actually spending right now, taking into consideration the fluctuations in your costs throughout the different seasons - so that you can target areas or appliances in your home that are costing you more than they should.

You come face to face with your bills every month and apart from giving you the news of what you owe it doesn't usually have
very much more information for you.

What is important is to somehow obtain a breakdown of the costs and to find out what the big spenders are in your home.

Now the company supplying you with energy only knows how much energy has gone into your home within a given time, and not
exactly what you have done with it in the privacy of your own home.

But for home energy savings projects you do need to know what is costing you the most and where you could make the most
savings as you work towards creating a more energy efficient home.

What it you could find out how each and every electrical item in your home cost you per month or even per week, what if you
knew how much a certain machine cost you per day! - would that put you back in control.

Home Energy Savings
- Appliances on Standby

It is convenient for us to have music and audio and visual appliances plugged in and switched on so that they sit on standby mode with their little red light on - indeed we may be comforted by the sight of a stack of machines all with their lights indicating that they are ready when you are and confirm that your electricity is still connected...

But, what is really interesting is to find out how much an electrical machine may cost you when it is working or when it is on standby - mutiply that cost by 365 and you can really see how you can improve your yearly utilities budget by simply pulling the plug.

Home Energy Savings
- Recognise Energy Guzzlers

Another important point is comparisons, how much each type of machine - be it refrigerator (the big home energy guzzler),
washer, dryer, dish washer etc, should cost you when compared with the average cost of running a new energy star machine of
similar type. This helps you realise that it sometimes pays to invest in new utility and kitchen equipment.

For example an energy saving refrigerator should use up no more than around 400 kWh per year - it would be great to be able
to find out how yours does by comparison wouldn't it...

Home Energy Saving Devices

Energy Saving Devices can help you find out the high energy users in your home...

A Watt Meter tells you how much power is consumed by an appliance that is plugged through it and into an electrical
socket.

A Power Monitor will give you an overall picture - day by day - of how much power you are using and how much it is costing
you.

If you are looking for ways to monitor the energy going through your home here is an article with more information on useful Home Energy Saving Devices

Making Home Energy Savings

Once you can identify the main power guzzlers within your home you will know what home energy savings are necessary to make a real difference and help you work towards living in an energy efficient home.

- and if you continue to monitor your power usage with these gadgets you will be able to see proof of your savings once you
have updated to energy efficient appliances and pulled the plug on other electricals until you want to use them.